Sunday, August 15, 2010

Completing Him Challenge - End of summer look back....

Even though last week was the last official week of the Completing Him Challenge, Courtney over @ Women Living Well has a few thoughts and end of the summer questions for everyone who completed in the challenge. Be sure to go to her site and link up if you did! Here is what Courtney wants all of us to remember from this past summer!

1. We must continue to remember those dating days and what made us fall in love with our husbands in the first place.
3.Remember to ask your husband how you can be praying for him daily.
7.Remember to respect your husband.
8. Remember to keep kissing him like you mean it!

I think overall the challenge was a very good experience for me. I helped me to start some conversations that I had wanted to have but didn't know exactly how to without starting an argument. I also think it helped me to view my husband's decisions with more respect and be more willing to follow his lead and help him to fulfill his leadership role in our relationship.

My husband said he actually liked it as well. He reads my blog anyways, but he would make mention of the challenge every Monday to me because he knew it was a new week and topic! He also said it made him feel good to see all the nice things I wrote about him! :)

Thanks again Courtney for such a wonderful summer challenge!


Heather

Recipe of the Week - Taco Tofu

It's time for the Recipe of the Week again! Be sure to link up below with your recipe!

This weeks recipe is actual a Heather original that I just tried a couple weeks ago. Its main ingredient is tofu, which I happen to love. I am always trying to find new ways of cooking it. A lot of times people are intimidated by tofu because they don't know how to season it or cook it. Tofu is very forgiving though, and even though it has a bland taste on its own, it will take on any flavor you put in it. So this week's recipe is called...


Taco Tofu
Ingredients: 
1 lb of firm or extra firm style tofu (If you have never bought tofu before, look for the brands packed and water). 
1 TBS of coconut oil or vegetable oil
1 packet of taco seasoning mix 
Directions: 
Heat oil in a skillet on medium to medium/high heat. Drain and rinse the tofu. Crumble the tofu with a fork or mixing spoon in the skillet and brown (Be patient, this will take a few minutes because all of the water in the tofu has to be steamed out, then the tofu will brown. Once it starts browning it will not take long! Be watching for burning). Add more oil as needed to prevent sticking or burning. Once tofu is browned, turn down heat to medium/low. Follow the directions on the taco seasoning packet (usually 3/4 c. water to one packet of seasoning). Add the seasoning mixture into the tofu and warm through. Serve immediately. 

A couple of weekends ago, we used this as a meat substitute on burritos. It is also good the next day heated up. 


Enjoy and happy cooking!


Heather



Dry Curry Chicken (Rendang Ayam)

Dry Curry Chicken (Rendang Ayam)

100 grams red chilies
65 grams (12) shallots
25 grams (6) cloves garlic
25 grams (6) candlenut
10 grams (1/8 cup) coriander seeds
4 dried chilies, soaked with hot water and pat dried
1/4 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon whole white pepper
1/4 fresh nutmeg

Other ingredients
1,2 litre coconut milk, pressed and strained from 4 freshly grated coconut
1 turmeric leaf (alternatively, substitute with a pinch of turmeric powder)
3 kaffir lime leaves
10 salam leaves
4 stalks lemongrass, halved and pounded to release juice
50 grams galangal, pounded to release juice
2 whole cardamom
1 star anise
3 cloves
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons salt
1 kilogram chicken, cut into medium size pieces
1 medium size potatoes, peeled and quartered

Grind spices for paste into medium-to-fine paste

In a big heavy stainless steel pot, cook half of coconut milk, spice paste, turmeric, kaffir lime leaves, salam leaf, lemongrass, galangal, cardamom, star anise and cloves over low heat for 10 minutes

Add sugar and salt. Increase heat to medium. Cook for 5 more minutes
Pour in the rest of coconut milk and potato. Cook over medium heat for 1 hour,

Stirring constantly to avoid burning till the coconut oil starts to separate from the milk. The dish should be simmering slowly with small bubbles. Cover partly to avoid splatter.

Toss in pieces of chicken. Cook for another hour. Season with more salt and sugar if desired. If potatoes are used, add potatoes at this stage. Cook for another half an hour.

Serve warm with steamed rice.

Dry Curry Chicken (Rendang Ayam)

Dry Curry Chicken (Rendang Ayam)

100 grams red chilies
65 grams (12) shallots
25 grams (6) cloves garlic
25 grams (6) candlenut
10 grams (1/8 cup) coriander seeds
4 dried chilies, soaked with hot water and pat dried
1/4 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon whole white pepper
1/4 fresh nutmeg

Other ingredients
1,2 litre coconut milk, pressed and strained from 4 freshly grated coconut
1 turmeric leaf (alternatively, substitute with a pinch of turmeric powder)
3 kaffir lime leaves
10 salam leaves
4 stalks lemongrass, halved and pounded to release juice
50 grams galangal, pounded to release juice
2 whole cardamom
1 star anise
3 cloves
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons salt
1 kilogram chicken, cut into medium size pieces
1 medium size potatoes, peeled and quartered

Grind spices for paste into medium-to-fine paste

In a big heavy stainless steel pot, cook half of coconut milk, spice paste, turmeric, kaffir lime leaves, salam leaf, lemongrass, galangal, cardamom, star anise and cloves over low heat for 10 minutes

Add sugar and salt. Increase heat to medium. Cook for 5 more minutes
Pour in the rest of coconut milk and potato. Cook over medium heat for 1 hour,

Stirring constantly to avoid burning till the coconut oil starts to separate from the milk. The dish should be simmering slowly with small bubbles. Cover partly to avoid splatter.

Toss in pieces of chicken. Cook for another hour. Season with more salt and sugar if desired. If potatoes are used, add potatoes at this stage. Cook for another half an hour.

Serve warm with steamed rice.

Claudia’s Basic “You Can Do It!” Pastry Recipe

When I was getting married, my mother said ‘There are two things you need to know how to make: one is pastry and the other is a bechamel sauce’. And you know what? She was right. Those two things have been invaluable over the years. Bechamel sauce may have fallen out of fashion now because it is fattening but at the time I embellished many a dinner with an au gratin vegetable dish and it was good training for other sauces. But pastry! Knowing how to make it opened up a new glorious vista into my culinary offerings. I even gave lessons to friends when we lived in Tokyo. I don’t know why but there is a certain amount of mystique and even fear of trying to make pastry. And the outcome is that you can’t make quiches, people avoid your mincepies at Christmas, and above all, no fruit tarts in the summer!


My mother was French, you see and the French on the whole prefer fruit or cheese for dessert. BUT they do like a good tart!

OK. Here is Claudia’s basic recipe for short pastry:

• 225g/8oz flour

• 125g/4oz butter (at room temperature)

• ice cold refrigerated water

• a 23-25cm/9-10in flan tin (pie dish)

(If you have a larger-sized tin, simply increase the measurements in proportion to each other ie 10oz flour to 5oz butter, 12 to 6 etc).

Pre-heat your oven to 180/350 degs.

Method

• Measure out the flour and put it in a bowl. Add the butter in small pieces.

• Using your fingers –just your right hand is enough- mix the butter into the flour but don’t go too far otherwise it turns into crumbs. (Take rings off!) Don’t worry if there are lumps as these will be integrated into the pastry in a minute.

• Using a tablespoon, start by adding one spoonful of the cold water at a time. Now you are going to concentrate on mixing in all those small lumps of butter that didn’t get mixed in before. Add more water. So you mix with your hands but be gentle. Pastry doesn’t like to be overhandled. You will easily see if you need more water as it will be too dry but continue adding by the careful spoonful as too much, it will end up a sticky mess. Go nice and slowly, adding, mixing.



• When it forms a ball, take it out of the bowl and lay it on the counter (cool marble is ideal!) which you have liberally sprinkled with flour. Now knead your ball. This feels great! It should be smooth and flexible at this stage. Some people recommend putting it in the fridge in a plastic bag for 30 minutes just to rest it but I never seem to do that.




• And now take your trusty rolling pin, flour it as well as putting a spoonful of flour on top of your pastry, and roll away! Roll it in all directions. Turn it over and roll. At this point, the shape is not that important. Now comes my mother’s trick: take your butter which has become nice and soft as it has been out of the fridge all this time, and with a knife, spread it all over your circle of pastry. This  makes it ‘shorter’ ie you are on the way to milles feuilles! Just kidding, but it does add that melt-in-your-mouth touch after baking.

• Then from the top, fold the pastry over, then from the bottom and finally the sides, so you have a nice little packet in front of you. Turn it over, again sprinkle with a little flour so it doesn’t stick to your rolling pin, and roll it out. Don’t be scared of it. Go for it, left, right, up and down. This time try to get it to the shape of your tin. If the consistency is right and you have made enough for the size of your tin, this is a breeze. Fold it over gently to transfer to the tin or dish. You can do this easily with your hands, you don’t need a spatula or anything.

 With a sharp knife, go round the edges cutting off the excess. I sometimes make a pattern with a fork round the edge or I use this nifty little device that I have that looks like a trick cyclist’s wheel and roll it round the edge if it is thick enough, to make it look nice. I always prick the bottom all over with a fork to stop the pastry rising. I never do that business with greaseproof paper and pulses as I don’t see the need for it.

I use the trimmings to make little cutout shapes to decorate the tart with. For these I use my old childhood cookie cutters so we have little rabbits, ducks and something that looks like Rupert Bear! But of course I can be more serious too and also have hearts and flowers to embellish my tarts. If I’m feeling creative, I ‘draw’ stems and leaves with a sharp knife and then make my own design.

Another good way of using up the extra bits that my friend Lesley told me about is to roll them out, sprinkle with granulated sugar, roll it in and then using cookie cutters, make little biscuits! She says they are called sables ie from the French, sandy! These cook quickly in your pre-heated oven at 180 degs for about 10 mins.

Tips:

• I may not subscribe to some of the usual rules associated with pastry-making but there are indeed some that hold true. One is that pastry does not like hot weather and indeed it doesn’t! My pastry the other day, for example. It was 38 degrees outside and the pastry magically felt it. It was impossible to roll out smoothly so I had to patch it up a bit to make it fit the tins. So you see, there are always pitfalls! That’s why a cold marble surface is ideal.

• The other tip is that I always place my tin on a baking sheet that has been in the oven while heating up. This is to make sure the base of the pastry case cooks through. How many times have you eaten stodgy quiche?

• Pastry cases freeze very well. Make sure you wrap them in foil or clingfilm otherwise they go all hard and take on an attractive greyish colour!


Voila!